The leader, in a fit of rage, transforms his nails into whips and channels all his energy into enhancing his body. Ishaan and Aarav now stand together before him, ready to try and stop him.

[Continuing...]

All three prepare to fight. Ishaan quickly jumps toward the boss, aiming a kick at him, but the leader vanishes the moment Ishaan gets close. Ishaan's kick lands straight on the wall. The leader appears behind Aarav and attacks him with his sharp whips, but Aarav blocks it with his stick. The leader snatches the stick from him and throws it aside.

Aarav moves forward and, dodging the leader's whips, tries to land a punch. He gets very close, almost landing the hit, but the leader catches his punch in his hand and kicks him in the stomach, sending him flying upward. Aarav can't move in midair, and the leader attempts to slice him with his whips from below. Ishaan quickly intervenes.

Ishaan pushes Aarav aside and takes all the slices himself. The leader's whips are so sharp that they even cut through Ishaan's metal layer, though the impact isn't too severe.

Both Aarav and Ishaan land back on the ground. Ishaan says, "His whips are extremely sharp." Aarav replies, "His speed and power are greater than ours. If we keep fighting like this and wear ourselves out, it'll be game over for us."

Ishaan said, "Tumhare paas koi plan hai kya?"

Aarav replied, "Mujhe lagta hai hume ek dusre ke paas hokar ladna chahiye. Agar hum uspe alag-alag hoke attack karenge, toh wo hamare haath nahi aayega. Hume usse apne paas lana hai aur phir usey harana hai. Paas mein ladne se hamare hit ke chances badh jayenge."

Ishaan said, "Thik hai, saath mein hi rehna. Meri powers ki time limit bhi khatam ho rahi hai; hume usey jaldi harana hoga."

The leader taunted, "Tum log bas baatein hi karte rahoge ya ladoge bhi?"

The leader then throws his whips at them. Both of them dodge his whips and start moving toward him. Aarav, getting closer to the leader, quickly grabs his stick from the ground.

Ishaan attempts a metal kick on the leader, but the leader dodges it. Aarav then tries an attack with his stick, but the leader stops it with his hands and delivers a kick to Aarav's stomach. Aarav blocks his stomach with his hand and grabs the leader's leg. At that moment, Ishaan comes from behind and delivers a powerful punch, sending the leader tumbling back a short distance. Aarav and Ishaan display solid teamwork, but when they look forward, the leader is no longer there.

The leader suddenly appears above them and targets Ishaan with his whips, pulling him upward and slashing him multiple times before kicking him far away. Aarav attempts to strike the leader with his stick from below, but the leader catches it and swings it back at Aarav. He misses, causing the stick to hit the ground. The leader then drags the stick along the ground and swings it, striking Aarav. Blood drips from Aarav's mouth, and before he can regain his footing, the leader delivers a powerful punch straight to his chest.

Aarav falls and lands beside Ishaan, whose left hand is injured, making it hard for him to move. Aarav is in severe pain and bleeding heavily. Ishaan tries to transform his hands again, but his time limit has run out. The leader laughs loudly. Ishaan attempts a normal punch, but none of his hits connect, as the leader dodges each one and counters with a flurry of punches. Finally, the leader delivers a powerful blow, sending Ishaan crashing into a table and knocking him out.

Aarav stands up, though he has no options left; if he loses, everyone dies. Aarav blinks and the leader appears in front of him, kicking him to the side. Just as Aarav is about to land, the leader grabs his face and slams him into the ground. Aarav is unable to move. The leader pulls out his whips, and it looks as though Aarav's time is up.

Just as the leader is about to strike Aarav with his whips, an ice wall appears, protecting Aarav and allowing him to slide across an icy floor, distancing himself from the leader. Opening his eyes, Aarav sees the girl sitting on the ground; she had saved his life.

The leader becomes enraged and starts moving toward the girl. Aarav wants to stop him but lacks the strength. Overwhelmed with emotion, he pleads with the leader to leave her alone, but the leader ignores him and continues advancing.

Aarav, almost ready to give up, suddenly hears a voice: "Stand up!" Out of nowhere, a surge of energy fills his body, and he manages to stand up. The leader reaches the girl, about to strike her with his whips, when Aarav, yelling, charges from behind. The leader lashes his whips at Aarav, but Aarav wraps them around his left hand and lands a powerful punch directly on the leader's face, sending him crashing through the wall and out of the store. Aarav, breathing heavily, sees that the leader is finally knocked out. He collapses to the ground and loses consciousness.

[2 hours later]

The sound of an ambulance horn and people's voices could be heard as Aarav opened his eyes. Seeing him wake up, Ishaan started to cry from relief, overjoyed that Aarav had come to.

Aarav sat up and asked Ishaan, "What's going on?" Ishaan replied, "I don't really know. When I came to, the police and a medical team were already here. The world's best medic, Aryan Gupta, treated us all. Using his powers, he healed the wounds of you, me, and everyone else. Now he's looking after the others who are still unconscious. The manager woke up before me and told me that the leader was defeated."

Aarav asked about the girl, and Ishaan said he didn't know where she had gone. Aarav stood up, and just then, the manager saw him and led the two of them away to a quieter place.

The manager thanked them both, saying, "Thank you, If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have survived."

Aarav then asked the manager about the girl. The manager explained that she was doing fine and that she had told them it was Aarav who defeated the leader. Then she left after grabbing a suit and weapon for herself.

Aarav sighed, saying he'd wanted to thank her for saving his life.

The manager led them into his office, where he pulled out a book that revealed a hidden lift. They took the lift underground, where a collection of advanced, specialized weapons lay waiting.

Ishaan's eyes lit up with excitement. The manager handed them both their suits and invited them to pick a weapon each. Ishaan chose the super buster hand gloves, which were convertible. Aarav, unsure at first, then noticed a dagger in one of the cases. The manager explained that it was the dagger of the first god king's commander, said to be made by a legendary smith who put his own spirit into it, and that it only chooses its master. Aarav found the dagger's history really interesting.

The manager asked if Aarav would like to claim the dagger, but he warned him that it came with a test.

The manager took the dagger and placed it in Aarav's hand, then set a small statue on the table in front of them. He told Aarav to try cutting the statue with the dagger, explaining, "If the dagger's spirit accepts you as its master, it'll be yours. For 400 years, it hasn't chosen anyone. If it slices through the statue, it's a sign you've been accepted. If it doesn't, then there's nothing more to be done."

Ishaan, curious, took the dagger to try it himself. "This thing is so sharp, it should slice through easily!" he said. But when he tried, he couldn't cut the statue, even after putting all his strength into it. The statue just fell from the table, uncut.

"How is that possible?" Ishaan wondered.

Aarav picked the statue up and set it back on the table, while Ishaan put the dagger down. Aarav then picked up the dagger again, closed his eyes, and calmly sliced down at the statue. The manager and Ishaan watched as Aarav cleanly sliced through the statue with ease, as if it were made of paper.

They stared in amazement as the blade glowed, releasing energy. The manager announced in shock, "After 400 years, it's finally chosen a master!"

The manager gave the dagger to Aarav. When they returned outside, a crowd of reporters awaited them. The city chief approached them and asked if they could wait for a moment.

The chief explained, "Please don't tell anyone about what happened here. If the public finds out that a gang leader was defeated by students from a power school, it'll only bring trouble."

Ishaan protested, saying, "But if everyone knew, we'd be famous! Why shouldn't we tell?"

The chief explained, "If this gang has ties to other gangs, and they find out that a bunch of students beat their leader, they'll come after you, your families, and your lives. Do you really want that?"

Ishaan didn't fully understand but nodded when Aarav said they wouldn't tell anyone. The chief then helped them leave safely.

As they walked down the street, Ishaan sighed, "There goes my chance to be famous." Aarav replied, "It's better this way."

They kept walking until they reached a point where Aarav needed to go straight, and Ishaan had to turn right.

Ishaan said goodbye and started to walk away, but then he turned back, pulling out his phone. "Hey, Aarav, give me your number."

Aarav was surprised. "My number?"

Ishaan replied, "We're friends now, so we should have each other's contacts, right?" Aarav felt a surge of happiness and gave Ishaan his number.

Ishaan said goodbye again and walked off. Aarav looked at Ishaan's number in his phone and whispered, "A friend, huh."

Hey everyone! If you liked the chapter 9, please take a moment to rate and review it. Your feedback is really important to us! The next chapter will be uploaded soon.

Thanks for your support!